Last Stand Protocol
by Arthur97
Summary: A foe from Master Hand's past makes his move. This foe is well prepared to take down the Smashers forcing a last ditch effort to stop him. Their Last Stand Protocol.
1. Apology

**A/N: If you kept up with this, it will be old stuff up until chapter 6 I think. Also, Xenoblade spoilers still apply. **

"Incoming new portal."

Sirens blared as the tube room prepared to receive some new guests. While travel between worlds was fairly commonplace at Homebase, there was a bit of a stir about this one. For one, it had been ordered specifically by Master Hand, yet he was not sharing who it was or why. Most assumed it was for the upcoming roster expansion, but the founders were usually consulted for that. They had no idea who was coming through the portals today…for the most part.

In addition, the control room overlooking the "Tube Room" had been completely vacated save for R.O.B. who oversaw the transport. Whatever was going on, the Smashers were suspicious, but they had little choice but to wait and hope they were filled in later.

The right tube had its occupants exit first. A familiar green tunic and royal blue clothes could be seen as the two veterans exited. They looked up and gave the robot a quick nod before a third man came out behind them. He did not look like much honestly. Skinny, blonde, and he did not really look like a fighter. Then again, neither did Marth. However, the young man seemed very interested in Homebase as he stared with his mouth ajar at all of the mysterious technology he just wished that he could pry open and investigate.

Shortly thereafter, the left tube opened with an iconic red hat and shiny orange armor clearly visible. The bounty hunter likewise nodded, though they two seemed slightly more irritated than the former party.

One look at the trio who came after them, and it was not hard to discern which one had caused them trouble. The only male of the group seemed to bear an apologetic look. He seemed good natured enough if somewhat unremarkable as well. Dressed in what appeared to be some sort of blue diving suit, he also did not look to be much of a fighter, but he was at least armed with red and gold blades on his back.

The redhead also seemed somewhat embarrassed, but while the young man ended up being awed by the sights, she seemed much more self-conscious about the whole situation. Which seemed a bit odd considering what she was wearing. It looked fine enough from the front, but got pretty skimpy from the back.

Then there was the blonde who could have passed for the redhead's twin. Her white and black dress probably came to about equal to the other girl's clothes when it came to skin coverage. Maybe a little better. However, she was very clearly unamused by the interruption to her day. Notably, both women seemed to have matching crystals on their chest that, while they may have appeared as part of their clothes were actually a part of them.

The boy in blue quickly took note of the other newcomer as the veterans told them to wait there for an escort.

"You get called here too?"

"Uh," The other man looked at the young man addressing him. He had been so enamored with the technology that he had not really noticed the others, "Yeah, though they didn't tell me what they wanted me for."

The younger man laughed, "Me neither," He grimaced remembered the blonde woman's reaction to being asked to come here without an explanation. He held out his hand, "My name's–"

He was interrupted by the door to the room sliding open again this time allowing R.O.B. inside. The blonde man tensed up slightly upon seeing the robot. While he was much better with mechanical beings now, non-humanoid ones still made him uneasy.

"If you will follow me," The robot spoke and began…rolling (?) away. The blue-clad boy simply shrugged and followed after R.O.B. with the other two on his tail. The blonde man quickly fell in place and took up the rear. All the while, he took in the strange new environment as well as the few glimpses he got of the residents of this place. Many looked human, some looked like humans with off-proportions, and some were clearly not human yet they were not any species he could identify.

Eventually, they arrived at a rather ordinary looking metal door. In fact, most of what they had seen since leaving the first room was fairly ordinary seeming as far as architecture.

R.O.B. stopped next to the door, "Master Hand would like a word with he four of you. He will see you inside."

Not really considering what a "Master Hand" was, the younger boy stepped through the door only to stop and gape at what he saw. Looking over his shoulder, the other man bore a similar expression at the sight of an actual hand shaped lifeform floating behind a desk. One that neither of them knew how he used it.

"Please, sit," None of the four really cared to try and explain where that voice was coming from, but they quietly took their seats in the four seats prepared for them. Even the blonde woman seemed to have forgotten her annoyance given the strange sight.

"You must be surprised by my appearance. Many are." The…hand, then went on to briefly explain where they were and what he did.

"However, I have called you here specifically for a very special purpose."

"And…what would that be?" The blonde woman spoke first.

"To apologize."

"Apologize?" The younger boy raised his brow, "What for?"

"Shulk, Rex, Pyra, and Mythra," Each one could somehow feel his gaze on them as he said their name despite him having no discernable eyes, "You are all familiar with a man named Klaus."

All four of their eyes went wide, but Shulk went rather pale as well.

"The Architect!"

"Father…"

"Zanza."

"Yes," The hand muttered, "And the object that he was studying when he inadvertently caused a calamity which shattered his world."

"The Conduit," Pyra whispered.

"Yes, that was what they called it. It was actually a prototype for a new power source designed to draw energy from a distant dimension."

"How do you know that?" Mythra folded her arms.

"Because," The hand paused, "My people built it."

"What?"

"Why?"

"As I said, it was a prototype. It was based on similar devices that we had already been using, but this one was much stronger, and much more unstable. Despite the misgivings of several of my people, the experiments continued until it ended up becoming unstable in one of them. At that point, it was ejected through the multiverse with the excess energy being largely absorbed between dimensions. However, it ended up in a world with a people woefully unprepared for that kind of technology.

"The resulting misuse of it fractured the world and tore Klaus into two parts. One which remained aboard the station a broken man, and the other which found himself in Shulk's pocket dimension where he went mad. All because of an experiment by my people. While I was not involved with the project, as one of the last of my race, I do feel responsible. The dimensional tears also prevented safe travel and therefore kept us from rendering aid, and they had been too slow to retrieve it in the first place."

The room was silent for several moments as the quartet mused over the recent revelations. Shulk probably took it the worst since it brought up painful memories for him. Everything Zanza had become, everything he did, because of some other race's failed prototype?

"Why are you apologizing?" Rex finally broke the silence. His question left both the hand and Shulk surprised, but Pyra smiled affectionately at the comment while Mythra seemed amused.

"Excuse me?" The hand voiced his confusion.

"Well, you weren't part of all this. You said so yourself. Why would you need to apologize?"

"It…was still my people. I cannot help but feel some responsibility."

"Seems a bit silly to me," He folded his arms, "But if it makes you feel any better, I forgive you. Besides, if it wasn't for that, I never would have gotten to meet Pyra! A-and Mythra and the others!"

Shulk raised his brow at that. The boy had a point. Without the Conduit, his world never would have formed. What happened was a tragedy, but it had not been all bad.

"He's right," Shulk nodded, "What happened was a tragedy, but it was beyond your control. Besides, it wasn't all bad."

"No," There was a certain degree of admiration in the hand's voice, "I suppose it wasn't. Still, I do have another offer for the four of you."

* * *

"You sure you won't stick around?" Shulk asked as one of the tubes prepared to send Rex, Pyra, and Mythra back home. Master Hand had offered them all positions on the Smash Brothers. Shulk had ended up accepting, but Rex had declined saying he had promises to keep in helping his own world. "I would have liked to trade stories."

"It's a tempting offer, for sure," Rex scratched the back of his neck, "But I promised that I'd change the world. I gotta keep my word."

"I can respect that," He held out his hand, "Maybe we'll meet again."  
Rex smiled and clasped hands with his fellow hero, "I look forward to it!"

"Rex!" The salvager turned to see Pyra waiting for him as Mythra went ahead through the portal.

"Catch ya around," Rex smiled and ran off to join the ruby haired blade.

"See ya!" Shulk waved after the young man. After he was through, the portal closed and the room returned to normal. After a few moments, Shulk sighed, he still had to explain to Fiora that he would be gone some now.

**A/N: I recently finally played through Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I probably like it more than the original. **

**Not sure how many will like this though as Xenoblade purists might dislike it, and I question how many others would care. Oh well. **

**I also may do a follow up chapter to this. While not particularly important to the bigger picture story ideas, it is in the same continuity. **


	2. Apology 2

"Come in," Master Hand called after the buzzer went off. The metal door slid open and R.O.B. entered his office.

"Status update on one of our probes. It appears one malfunctioned and crashed on a remote planet in Samus' world. Retrieval is complicated by the acidic nature of the sea it fell into."

"Can we not send Samus to retrieve it?"

"Unfortunately, she has undergone radio silence as part of a hunt. She planned to be out of contact for at least one week. Resident forces already seem to be looking for the probe. I calculate approximately 53 hours before they locate it."

"Well, we'll just have to send someone else. Preferably a strong swimmer."

"Unfortunately, few have experience with diving equipment, and less with salvage operations. However, we have had contact in the past with someone who does have such experience. It should be relatively easy for them to adapt to the equipment."

The hand thought for a moment, "So we have. Send Shulk to fetch him."

"Understood," R.O.B. began to leave to give the order.

"Oh, and complete as much of the preparations on the suit as you can. Time is of the essence."

"Yes, sir."

Master Hand stared at the door for a bit after the robot left. Still carrying a special interest in them, Master Hand had been keeping an eye on that world. He was pleased to find that they were doing well. Though, he did wish that the boy had accepted his offer like Shulk had.

* * *

"You ready?" Shulk asked as Rex walked back into the tube room.

"Yeah," He tugged on his new gloves. The diving suit was a plain gray, but it still reminded him of another outfit he had worn before. Either way, he was perfectly comfortable in it. It had not taken him long to learn how to use it, or any of the other equipment they would be using.

"That the crane?" Rex nodded to the device behind Shulk.

"Affirmative," A robotic voice answered from the command booth, "There is an outcropping at an appropriate spot, so a drop ship will not be necessary. All you have to do, is set up the crane, find the probe, attach the magnetic connector, and pull it back up."

"Got it!" Rex shot the robot a thumbs up.

"The local fauna should not be a problem, but if you do run into any predators, Shulk should be more than match for anything you would face at this time of day."

"I also have a weapon," Rex patted the red sword attached at his back, "Won't be as strong alone, but it still packs a punch."

"Indeed. It is time to depart."

R.O.B. activated the portal allowing for the two to push the mobile crane through. On the other side of the portal, they were greeted by a rocky crag overlooking some purplish water. Their target was somewhere down there.

"So," Rex started as they began setting up the crane, "How have you been?"

"Fair," Shulk replied trying not too hard to think about recent events. It had only been less than two months since they barely pulled themselves back from oblivion. Not that Rex would know that. No, only those directly involved seem to have any recollection of those events. For everyone else, it was as if nothing had happened. Shulk was almost envious of those.

"I, uh, actually got married recently," Shulk confessed. After all that had happened, he was not about to risk anything getting in their way again.

"Really?" Rex looked up over the cable spool, "Congrats, mate!"

"Thank you," Shulk chuckled as he secured one of the legs of the crane to the cliff, "How about you? Any romantic ventures?" The boy was certainly no longer a boy. He had grown into a strapping young man. He was also taller than Shulk remembered. Taller than him at this point.

"Ah," Rex rubbed his neck after securing another leg, "It's, er, complicated." Really, it should not have been. They knew how each other felt, but they had not really pushed their relationship after that getting caught up with work and falling into the comfortableness of their old relationship.

Shulk raised a brow, but he did not pry, "Alright, it's ready."

"Roger," Rex stood and pulled the helmet over his head. He took a few steps back from the edge of the cliff before running after it. Much to Shulk's surprise, he performed a surprisingly graceful dive off the edge. He guessed it came with practice.

The lights on the helmet activated automatically upon being submerged, as did the display on the visor. What had Pyra called that in his? Heads up displa he believed. Whatever it was called, it was certainly helpful as it pointed a clear path to the probe.

With magnetic clamp in tow, Rex swam down toward the downed device. After swimming for half an hour, he finally came upon the sunken probe. It looked like something far out of his league, much like almost everything else at Homebase. Still, he made sure the crane was attached before pressing a button on the panel on his forearm.

He rode the probe up as the crane automatically pulled it toward the surface. He took his time to watch the strange forms of life as he slowly made his way to the surface. He was ready to celebrate another job well done as he emerged from the water, however, the sound of a commotion distracted him as he got close to the cliff.

When he finally reached the top, he saw Shulk with his sword fighting off something that looked like a cross between a bear and a boar. Whatever it was, it seemed pretty angry. Rex readied his weapon and jumped onto the cliff to join the fray. Running behind the creature, he thrust the sword into its back. He may have been lacking a blade, but that did not mean that the flames emanating from the sword were not really hot. Hot enough to draw the monster's ire.

Fortunately, it had left itself open to an attack from Shulk by turning to the younger of the two.

"Backslash!" Shulk leapt at the back of the alien creature and quickly did it in with a quick downward slash. As it fell to the ground, both men returned their weapons to their places, though Rex noticed that Shulk's sword looked familiar. It almost looked like a red and less sinister version of…

"That went well," Rex commented, "Now we just have to secure this probe."

Shulk nodded and they went to work pulling it up. As they worked, Rex made idle conversation, "So, how is it?"

Shulk looked at him in confusion, "How is what?"

"The whole Smash Brothers thing. Is it mostly stuff like this or what?"

Shulk froze for a bit, "It...varies. Most of the time it's nothing. Others...well…" He looked at the young man wondering if he should tell him. They typically kept this among themselves, but he already knew about the organization.

Sighing, Shulk continued, "We almost lost. We were this close to being wiped out. Most people don't even know…"

"But you won," Rex replied ever the optimist, "At least you managed that. You won for all of us."

"Ever the optimist, aren't you?"

"So I've been told."

"Perhaps we could use more of that," Shulk was somewhat melancholy, "It got pretty bleak there. I'm not sure how well everyone is coping with it."

"You're a tough lot. I'm sure you'll pull through. I know most might never know all you've done for us, but know that you all have at least one fan."

"Heh, thanks," Shulk smiled, "Now, let's wrap this up."

* * *

"Well," Rex stretched, "Another job well done."

"Right," Shulk replied, "And thanks for the talk. Your optimism is oddly catching."

"I've heard that too."

"Don't be a stranger. I'm sure Master Hand's offer still stands."

"I'll think it over. I'd have to discuss it with Pyra and Mythra too."

"Well, whatever you decide, it was nice talking to you."

"Likewise." Once again, they went their separate ways with Shulk wondering if it was for the last time.

**A/N: It was nice to see people accepting of my adding of lore to Master Hand's race. Though, I'm lacking anymore bite sized lore bits like that at the moment. In fact, the original one was moreso to write something related to XC2. I even questioned if I should post this as the main thing I wanted to reveal didn't really work out.**

**That said, I may have one more entry to make on Smash Files that I thought up later. However! I think I'll save that as a herald of the big story finally coming. So, if you see Smash Files updated one more time…**

**I've also had the idea floating in my head for a sort of D list Smash story where the actual team is somehow disabled leaving it to ones who didn't make the cut or didn't accept. Haven't really figured out the full set up though as I'm hesitant to do more brainwashing. Some names for the team would be stuff like Geno, Impa, Dixie, etc. Not the most original idea, and it's pretty low priority. Though, at least you might not have to wait through much of a XC2 kick since as much as I loved the game, the rather small section for it combined with the seeming love of polygomy there...means it might not be the best market for what I'm offering. I do at least one to wrap up my current FE story, but this Smash thing...it's quite the daunting task.**


	3. Wreckage

Samus was closing in. She had been hired to hunt down a rogue hunter. Samus had been tracking the target for a few days. Her prey had set down on a very remote planet where Samus picked up some faint energy readings. These readings did not seem like much to her, but she knew better than to turn a blind eye to something seemingly innocuous. Especially if unsavory types could be involved.

Sure enough, once she landed on the same remote planet as her target, her suit picked up the faint energy signature that did not match the other hunter's technology. There were no civilizations on this planet. Something was here that should not have been.

Fortunately, Samus was well prepared despite being forced to land further away. Samus quickly made her way to the energy source with no sign of her prey.

She ended up finding the source of the energy signature before her target. It appeared to be some sort of downed craft. It did not look like any known Federation or Space Pirate craft she was familiar with. Once her scan finished, her visor lit up with a red warning. It did not match any craft from her database, but it did have similarities to another form of technology she had encountered.

Her hand quickly went up to her helmet as she accessed a channel she never used for hunts. Accessing her specially modified communications array, Samus patched through to Homebase.

"Samus? Is something wrong? You're breaking your radio silence rather early."

"I found something out here. I'm going to need some salvage."

"What did you find?"

"Looks like a downed craft that appears to be made with Hand tech."

"I will prepare for the wreckage. Will it fit through the tubes?"

Samus ran a quick scan, "Yeah, it should fit."

"One moment." Samus waited as R.O.B. prepared to salvage the craft, "Portal outbound."

Sure enough, a portal opened on queue. A tractor emitter which put even her own grapple beam to shame lowered in front of the tube and started to pull the wreckage through. After it was through, Samus hesitated. Her target was likely here somewhere, but Hand tech getting out in the open was a serious issue. If there was more out there, then that was a priority over her hunt. Though, her target may have had intel, but Homebase was generally better equipped to track answer her questions.

With a sigh, Samus turned to the portal, "You got lucky this time, Sylux."

* * *

Back at Homebase, Samus exited the tube to find the debris already being lifted away. R.O.B. was there to greet her.

"Preliminary analysis?" Samus removed her helmet. No matter how advanced the technology, it seemed a non-stuffy helmet was still beyond any civilization.

"Scans seemed to confirm that it is some form of Hand tech."

"Is this an experimental probe of ours?" Samus was usually kept in the loop about such things, but she decided it best to rule out the possibility before jumping to less pleasant conclusions.

"No, however, one of our probes did malfunction lately. It crashed in your world while you were silent."

"Do you know why it malfunctioned?"

"It appeared to have overloaded though the cause remains unknown."

"And you're sure that you got to it first?"

"Yes. It was submerged in highly acidic water, and there was no indication of tampering post-crash."

Samus almost wished they had found something.

"We should know more after a more in-depth analysis. I shall be sure to inform you afterwards."

Samus watched as the robot departed to help perform the analysis. That left her with little to do but wait until they had more information. Well, at least she had time to grab a bite.

* * *

Some two and a half hours later, Samus was finally called in for a briefing. Wearing her blue bodysuit, Samus leaned back in the fairly comfortable conference chair and folded her arms. She was not the only one called in either. Mario sat to her right near the head of the table. The usually chipper man wore a serious expression as he usually did when it came to Smash matters.

Fox sat across from her with his hands folded calmly on the table in front of him and his tail folded around so that he could sit in a normal chair. His chair was also at maximum height to accommodate his short stature. Next to him sat Link as cool and collected as ever, but with eyes that seemingly sized up his environment with ease. Even with her technology, Samus knew not to underestimate that man. Overconfidence in technological superiority was a mistake typically only made once against any of the heroes.

Samus could not say she was surprised that they were brought in, but it also pretty much confirmed that this was not something harmlessly explained.

R.O.B. approached the head of the table, but the robot did not take the lead. Instead, Master Hand made a personal appearance.

"Greetings," The hand spoke, "Earlier today, Samus found a crash site of what appeared to be Hand tech on a remote planet in her world. Analysis has confirmed that it is Hand tech, but it is not from Homebase."

The four exchanged tense glances before Fox spoke up, "Then where did it come from?"

"I don't know," Master Hand confessed.

"I don't suppose it could just be something similar?"

"I doubt it. It is extremely similiar, but I don't think it was salvaged either. Mainly because of this," The monitor behind him then displayed a box like object. "This, appears to be a perfected version of a highly experimental energy core. There was only one prototype, and its location was known until its destruction. It's extremely advanced, and I do not know of another race that could have produced something like this.

"It could be an unknown race, but…this falls in line with the research. The rest of the craft also seems to be built using known, if not modified, Hand tech."

Silence dominated the room for several minutes before Samus asked the question on everyone's minds, "I thought you and your brother were the only Hands left."

"So did I."


	4. Encounter

Fox casually sipped his coffee as he journeyed down to the control room. After Master Hand's concerns that there might have been a rogue Hand on the loose, at least one level one member was being stationed at Homebase at any given time. Unfortunately for Fox's already limited personal life, there were only four who fit that bill as simply being a Founder was not enough. They really did not want to let Donkey Kong or Kirby make tactical decisions.

Really, Fox did not find it exceptionally necessary that one of them stay since Master Hand and R.O.B. as well as a couple of full timers were there anyway. Of course, he was also a bit irked since he had to reschedule his date with Krystal. Fortunately, he just had one more shift before Mario came to relieve him.

"Morning, R.O.B.," Fox greeted taking a spot standing behind the robot, "Anything to report today?"

"Nothing of note. It was an uneventful night."

"Of course it was," Fox took another sip of his beverage.

"If I may, you seem almost disappointed."

Fox sighed, "It's not that. I'm just honestly a little upset at the disruption. Especially when Master Hand is already keeping such a close eye on this."

"It is good to have experienced personnel available."

"Heh, Reflet driving you up the wall?"

"I lack that ability," R.O.B. replied technically, "But, yes."

Fox chuckled, "She can be a handful," The pilot then returned to a more somber expression, "If there is another Hand out there, what do you think they want?"

"I lack the data to extrapolate a motive. The Hands were still a species with varying personalities. As for why they have not met with Master Hand, perhaps they are simply wary. However, less than desirable motives cannot be ruled out at this time."

"Analytical as always I see," Fox sipped his coffee. It was a bit odd for Fox running into another robot with the same name as his own robotic assistant - well, mostly; his Rob's name was not an acronym - was a bit odd, but given everything else, Fox was able to adapt to it rather quickly.

"It is my nature."

Fox looked at the robot. Unlike his own Rob, R.O.B. was apparently sentient despite his nature. Sometimes it was easy to forget that.

About sixe hours into Fox's shift, an alarm went off in the control room.

"What is it?" Fox was out of his chair and looking over R.O.B.'s shoulder joints very quickly.

"An energy signature matching the one from the wreckage recovered. It is currently traveling at an incredible velocity in a remote part of space in Olimar and Alph's world."

Fox rubbed his chin, "Prepare the Arwing-S."

"Understood."

* * *

Fox watched as the light gray and red craft was lowered into the tube room. Recent events had finally convinced Master Hand to allow greater weapon development using Hand technology - something that he had historically been hesitant to do with the exception of Shulk's Monado. One of the first creations was a modified Blaster that Fox carried while on duty with the Smashers, but he had to leave it behind when he went back to his own business.

This craft was a bit more complicated. Its chasi resembled his usual Arwing, but it was faster and stronger than a traditional Arwing. He was somewhat concerned since Falco had been doing most of the test piloting, and, frankly, he was a better if not more reckless pilot than himself. Hopefully it was not too overtuned.

Climbing into the cockpit, Fox prepared to launch. R.O.B. was meticulous, but he still ran a pre-flight check.

"Coordinates set, Tube Room secure," R.O.B. spoke over the comm channel, "Prepare to disembark."

"Roger. All systems go. Ready to launch."

Fox powered up the engines as the portal opened up in front of him. Once it was formed, the umbilical disconnected and Fox flew straight into the portal finding himself in space on the other side.

One look at his instruments told him that the object was close, and closing in fast. Too fast actually. The craft blazed past him forcing him to kick up the power to his engines just to keep up.

"Fox," R.O.B.'s voice came over the comm, "Readings show that the craft is likely of the same make as the downed vessel. However, its energy readings are erratic. The power core may be unstable. I recommend extreme caution."

"Understood," Fox confirmed as he neared the vessel again despite the protests of his engines. As he got closer to it, the craft slowed down to a stop leading to Fox following suite and stopping in front of it.

"R.O.B., it stopped."

"Readings show that it is building up energy. It may be preparing to attack."

Almost as soon as Fox received the transmission did the other craft fire some form of energy at Fox's ship which quickly started overloading his systems.

"F...x, an...indi...rec...ck...t."

Fox promptly deactivated the comm and fired at the craft to little effect. The pilot grimaced and armed one of his compliment of bombs. The yield on those was...large, but he had little choice. He ignored the warning about the range and really hoped that it was more of a suggestion than it was a strict fact. Either way, it was his only shot, and if this thing was unstable, it was better that it detonated away from civilization.

With his target aimed manually at where the beam was leaving the craft's shields, Fox fired and closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable blast. Being space, there was no audible explosion, but Fox certainly felt it as he was hurdled from the blast. Audio was still present though as warnings blared with exceptional volume.

Fox was at least able to fire up his engines enough to stabilize himself, but not much more than that. He was in bad shape. Fortunately, it appeared that the other vessel was as well. Groaning, Fox switched his comm back on hoping that it had been mostly interference jamming his signal, and that it was still intact.

"Fox to Homebase."

"Fox, I detected a large explosion. What is your status?"

"Yeah, I detonated a bomb stupidly close to my hull. Seemed to work, but it's going to need salvage and the Arwing-S is going to need some work."

"Understood. Stand by."

Fox looked at the adrift craft before closing his eyes and leaning back against his seat. He was probably going to have to cancel his date.

* * *

"What do we have?" Fox asked as he hopped out of the cockpit of the admittedly not totaled Arwing-S.

"The power core appeared in tact, but non-functional. Otherwise, the craft appears to be the same model as the crashed one."

"So they are related?"

"Most likely."

"The fact that it attacked me doesn't bode well either."

"No. Judging from its attack, they were likely responsible for our probe failing. Fortunately, the Arwing-S is significantly more sturdy."

"Yeah, but I don't look forward to telling Falco about this."

"It could serve as an opportunity to fine tune some of the systems."

"I guess," Fox sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "So, if these probes were simply attacking everything, they would have caused more damage than they have."

"Most likely."

"I suppose perhaps our tech could have disrupted their systems."

"Unlikely."

Fox nodded in agreement, "So then, that means…they're gunning for us."

"Most likely."

Fox sighed. Yeah, he was probably not going on that date today.


	5. Meeting

Roy dropped his quill upon receiving a knock at his door, "Come in."

His wife proceeded to peak her head in, "You've got a guest. A guest from…_that_."

Roy leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. Typically, only spouses were allowed to be informed about the Smash Brothers though that rule did not apply to many of the members. Either way, Roy knew full and well what she meant. He was expecting something like this. He was just hoping that it would not be so soon.

"Send him in."

Roy's wife nodded and pulled her head back out. In a few seconds, a man with blue hair and a matching regal outfit walked in.

"King Marth," Roy stood and offered his hand, "How are you faring?"

"Fair," Marth took his hand, "And you?"

"Oh, just dealing with politics. You know how it is."

"Unfortunately."

"Please, have a seat," Both leaders took their seats, "How is Caeda?"

"Good. Expecting actually."

"Congratulations! Your first, right?"

"Yes. We're excited, but also a bit nervous. How about you? Consider having children yet?"

"We've discussed it, but we haven't been trying yet."

"A shame," Marth and Roy both paused for a moment, "I take it you know why I'm here."

"I haven't confirmed whether I'm staying or not."

"I know you have your doubts. I was hoping that I might be able to dissuade them."

Roy sighed, "I have a country to run."

Marth grinned ever so slightly, "We have both married formidable women and have capable allies. Your realm will continue to operate in your absence. Besides, we both know that there are things that you cannot protect them from if you stay here. No, that's not it."

Marth leaned forward, "Tell me, why do you fight?"

"Excuse me?" Roy raised his brow already on the defensive.

"I used to go on about how I was a prince before a brother or son when I was younger, and while I am still dedicated to my people, I find that they are no longer my greatest motivation. I found that my reason to fight had become my wife and now our unborn child. My family is my greatest cause to fight, and I suspect the same might be true of you."

Roy was silent for a few seconds looking at a portrait of his parents he kept over his mantle. When he spoke, he did not immediately look at Marth, "I never met my mother. All I had were the stories. She was apparently a formidable woman. Listening to father speak, it was clear he thought the world of her. He not only loved her, he respected her.

"I did know my father though. He molded me into the man I am today. All I am, all I've achieved, I owe to him at least in part." Roy looked Marth in the eyes, "I was away when he died."

"Crazy Hand."

"Yes. I never got to say good-bye. He never even knew where I was or what I was doing. I sometimes wonder what he thought I was doing, or if he would be proud if he did know. So, while I was fighting in something bigger than myself, I lost one of the people most dear to me. I don't want to risk that again. I…I already almost lost _her_ last time."

"But you were able to help save her," Marth replied gently, "Would you rather have been helpless alongside her? I can understand grief at not getting to say good-bye, but isn't the last time proof of why you should continue with us? Together, we can fight off threats that the rest of our worlds are completely unaware of. Things beyond our own limited abilities. Surely you see that.

"Something…something else may be happening," Marth continued gravely, "I don't know what, but I think something has Master Hand concerned."

Roy opened his mouth, but he quickly closed it again. Before he gave a reply, the two men were interrupted by Roy's wife bursting into his study.

"Roy! We've just got reports of some sort of…metallic monsters attacking the countryside to the Northwest."

Both men gave each other a knowing look having a good idea what "metallic monsters" were.

"I think I should go with you," Marth stood.

Roy nodded, "We'll go on ahead. Prepare our forces and follow behind."

With a nod, she went off to prepare the troops while Roy and Marth wordlessly went to engage this mysterious foe.

* * *

The two slowed their mounts as they spotted a familiar looking form on the road ahead of them.

"Is that…R.O.B.?" Roy asked his colleague.

"I don't know why he'd be here, or why he'd be attacking."

"So, not a friendly?"

"Most likely." Marth pulled out his communicator, "I should probably call this in. That's odd. I'm not getting anything."

"Could it be broken? Or could something be blocking it?"

"Perhaps," Marth put it away, "Either way, it doesn't look like we'll be able to call them for backup. I would suggest taking care of this before your troops arrive though."

"Agreed."

"I'll defer to your judgement. We are in your kingdom after all."

"Alright," Roy nodded and watched their opponent, "Here's what we do…."

* * *

The machine was slowly making its way toward the capitol when Roy met it in the road, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to surrender or at least tell me why you're terrorizing the countryside?" Roy narrowly side stepped an energy blast, "Guess not."

Roy charged forward with his blade drawn and gathering flames as he rushed the robot. Fortunately, it's rate of fire was not all that great allowing for Roy to watch its head and evade its shots. Dodging one shot, Roy brought his sword up in a diagonal slash releasing the flames in a wave that crashed into the machine leaving a slight glow where it had impacted, but otherwise doing little damage.

The real attack came from behind as Marth leapt into the air with a shout. The robot spun its head around to fire at him. Just as Roy planned. Marth had his blade pulled back and ready to strike. The Hero King thrust forward as he descended, piercing the machine's right eye lens.

The robot made a powering down sound and deactivated.

Roy was looking around as he approached Marth, "Didn't the report say there were more than one?"

"I saw no trace of a seco–" Marth was unable to finish as both he and Roy had their teeth involuntarily clench as electricity was poured into their bodies. After they collapsed, two more R.O.B.s approached their prey.


	6. Incursion

"Portal inbound," R.O.B. spoke over the loudspeaker as the last attendee for their meeting was arriving. Mario tipped his hat to Marth as he prepared to depart before making his way up to the conference room. Along the way he passed by a stone-faced Ike and a curious looking Reflet.

"What do you think this is all about?" The tactician asked watching the door slide shut behind Mario.

"I don't know. I wasn't invited to the meeting," Ike replied plainly.

"Ah, come on, don't you still want to speculate?"

"Why?" Ike raised a brow, "What good would it do other than to excite you? You'd probably just come up with worst case scenarios anyway."

"Well, it's got to be serious to bring in the big dogs like this."

"But not serious enough to bring in everyone," Ike crossed his arms, "I'll wait before jumping to conclusions, thank you."

"Hmph," Reflet crossed her arms as well and pouted, "Killjoy."

* * *

Mario took his seat next to Fox and across from Link. The mood was obviously sour, and Fox looked especially displeased. Needless to say, the four of them knew that nothing good was going to come of this meeting. Having just finished one massive conflict, they were not eager to have to call in the troops once more.

R.O.B. soon entered and approached the head of the table, but the robot was not alone this time. Master Hand would be joining them. The Founders shared a look before Master Hand spoke.

"A few hours ago, Fox responded to a familiar energy signature matching the wreckage that Samus found. The unmanned craft attacked him, but he was able to neutralize. Analyzing the readings from the attack as well as the wreckage has led us to the conclusion that it was the same type of weapon that disabled our probe.

"Analysis also indicates that it is a form of Hand technology. Seeing as my brother has gone missing, he might be seen as a culprit, but he never possessed this level of technical knowledge even before…. Ahem, no, this technology is not simply constructed from existing Hand technology, some of it has been improved upon. So that means that we are very likely being targeted by an entity with the means and know how to produce and improve Hand tech. Something I have not observed in any known species but my own."

"So, there's another hand out there?" Samus spoke what they were all thinking, "And you're sure now?"

"It seems very likely."

"But why attack us?" Fox leaned against the table, "What beef would they have with us?"

"It is possible they see us as a threat. Truly, we may be the only ones who could stand against such a threat if it is a Hand. We are hardly a faultless or benevolent race. We have our vices like any other species. Still, I had thought us all gone save my brother and I. Also, why wait so long before making a move?"

Link suggested that maybe they thought that they were weak after what they had endured recently.

"Perhaps, but now that we've begun weapons development, that may have also spurred them to action. I fear–"

The hand was interrupted by the sound of a blaring alarm before the lights turned off leaving the room only illuminated by the red emergency lights and what little illumination Samus' suit, Fox's gear, and R.O.B. provided to light the conference room.

"Emergency," R.O.B. uttered still remaining perfectly still, "Our defenses indicated an attempt to hack into Homebase's mainframe."

"A hack?" Master Hand spoke in shock, "From where?"

"From inside," R.O.B. finally looked at the hand, "I was forced to shut down the main computer. We are running on emergency systems."

"The crafts," Samus slammed her fist on the table, "They played us!"

"It is possible that they linked their systems to make up for any damage," R.O.B. directed his gaze at the hunter, "The hack did seem to originate from where they are being kept."

"Then we need to get there and–" Fox was interrupted as an explosion shook the compound, "What was that?"

"Unknown," R.O.B. replied, "Homebase sensors are down. My own sensors indicate that they blast came from Storage Facility B."

Link clenched his fists. They had self-destructed. Samus was right, they had been played.

"Warning," R.O.B. spoke again, "Multiple energy signatures detected. I surmise that we are under attack."

"How many?" Fox asked while Samus suited up and Link pulled out the Master Sword.

"I do not have a specific number."

"Guess!" Samus nearly growled.

"…A lot."

Mario furrowed his brow. Probably too many for them, and with the main computer down, they could not use the tubes. Holding out long enough for the computer to come back online also was not a very appealing option. They would have to go for something else.

"The Lifeboat has separate and isolated systems," Master Hand agreed, "It should still be functional, but you'll need to get there to launch it. Go, I'll stay and buy you time if I can."

Mario wanted to object, but the hand was right. With a nod, Mario led the charge out into Homebase. They would need to get outside in order to get to the Lifeboat, but they would likely have to go through a lot of enemies on the way. Fortunately, they were not the Founders just because they were among the first.

"Good luck, Smashers," Master Hand whispered after they left.

* * *

"Are those R.O.B.s?" Fox asked as he fired a few shots around the corner. His amplified blaster was effective, but nowhere near as much as they needed right now.

"Master Hand did say that they were using Hand tech," Samus fired a barrage of super missiles. Unfortunately, little of her armament had been modified yet leaving her with her base weapons save for a prototype super missile. Fortunately, her weapons were among the best in the organization.

Link fired an arrow with pinpoint accuracy right into one of their eye sockets. They needed to keep moving.

"I'd love to!" Samus yelled, "But we can't get through here with them firing at us like this!"

"Yes, you can," Fox looked toward the hero, "Think you and that fancy shield can get me in close?"

Link nodded and charged ahead with his ridiculously durable shield leading the way. It was one of the few things that Master Hand could not improve as even he did not know what made it so durable, and as far as anyone knew, it was not enchanted. Whatever the case, it allowed Link to barrel on into the barrage of enemy robots, but the shield did not cover his whole body, and the closer he got, the harder it got to block all of their attacks even with his super human level reflexes.

"This'll do," Fox leapt over the hylian and activated his reflector. Also modified to take a lot more punishment, but unfortunately, they still did not have a way to allow him to move much while using it. A few R.O.B.s went down after having the force of their attacks sent back at them, but they quickly ceased fire allowing for melee oriented models to approach as the other three Smashers made it into the corridor that they needed to get to.

Mario reached out, but Fox waved him away, "Go!"

Their decision was made for them as the other R.O.B.s approached. With one last look, Mario dashed off with the others.

"Don't let me down."

* * *

After that, they avoided anymore confrontations until they exited the main compound at which point Link found himself immediately pulled toward a large magnet that they had set up in preparations for the hero. All of his metal equipment suddenly became anchors as he was bound to the magnet.

"Link!" Samus charged her arm canon as the hero struggled to free himself, but the R.O.B.s were on him by the time he managed to lose undo his belt and leave all his gear behind. Link was fit, but without his gear, he was no match for them. Mario put a hand on her shoulder, they could not help him now. He was too far away and already surrounded.

Gritting her teeth, Samus concurred, but not before firing a round of plasma at the machines. She hated having to leave allies behind, let alone doing so twice in one day.

* * *

"Hahaha, magic or no, steel is still steel, wouldn't you agree?"

Master Hand was unamused as he was forced to watch as his Smashers were being worn down. The attack was fast and brutal. He and R.O.B. did not stand a chance.

"The strongest fighters in the multiverse? Perhaps together," The red hand taunted, "But alone, alone they are vulnerable." The hand snapped and his R.O.B. he had projecting showed images of the Smashers all held captive. "Admittedly, some took more inventive means of containment," The monitor showed a pink blob in a tight container that Master Hand surmised to be Kirby, "But they all fall," The images then switched to Palutena and Pit retrained, "Even those who would claim so called divine powers will fall for they are hardly gods. Merely those with a taste of power and a flair for the dramatic."

"Why are you doing this, Scolato?" Master Hand spat. Yes, he knew him. He was an ousted scientist. One of their best, but he was deemed too radical. It was thought that he had killed himself in one of his own experiments. Apparently not.

"Because, loathe as I am to admit it, these pets of yours would oppose me when I tried to assert my rightful place as ruler of the multiverse, and I will not make the mistake of giving them the chance to rally."

"Are you still on this superiority kick?"

"We are superior! Or at least I am. You are weak and allow yourself to empathize with weaker beings. Our powers, our science! We trounce these pathetic beings, but you and those like you kept us from realizing our full potential. So, I faked my death and spent my time in a pocket dimension biding my time. You can imagine my delight when the weaklings were wiped out. Well, most of them. Of course, the time difference meant much more time passed here than for me, but it allowed you to think only you and your brother were left alive."

"So why not kill me? Or the Smashers? You clearly don't think much of us."

"Because," The hand replied with no small amount of annoyance, "Your little robot shut down the main computer, and I would very much like to get a look at all that detailed information on my future targets. Your pets are my assurance in case I can't pry the reactivation codes from your R.O.B. here."

"I assure you, you will find my security extremely hard to break."

"I do like a challenge. In the meantime though, I'm curious as to what they're heading for. Could there be something I missed? Oh well, I'll find out soon enough." The hand departed the devastated conference room, "Take them back to base."

* * *

"They just keep coming!" Samus fired away. They were close to the Lifeboat, but the R.O.B.s were moving to surround them. Gritting her teeth, Samus stopped running and armed the experimental warhead.

"I'll hold them off! You launch the Lifeboat! Got it!"

Mario wanted to object and point out that she could get there faster, but he also knew she was not leaving someone else behind. Nodding, Mario ran and did not look back. Even as the warhead cleared a path for him and the sounds of combat rung out behind him, he kept running.

Reaching what looked like a normal tree, Mario opened a panel and input his authorization code. After that, a secret hatch opened up revealing stairs to the underground complex.

Only landing on every dozen or so stairs, Mario made it down quickly and darted for the control room. He hurriedly input a separate code which opened a retinal scanner. Once the scanner confirmed his identity, a hatch opened revealing a singular, glowing red button.

"Stop right there!" Mario froze and turned around looking at the large red hand that hovered into the room. "You must be Mario. You don't look like much. Yet, somehow, you are their fearless leader? Oh, but don't worry. You'll be joining the others soon. Including your brother and that bothersome princess."

Mario clenched his fists.

"Oh, does that make you angry?" The hand mocked, "Well, come on then! Show me what makes you worthy of so much praise!"

Mario charged, but not in the direction of the hand. Despite the challenge, Mario did not take the bait. Instead, he jumped and landed on the red button with a handstand before vaulting off of it. Once in the air again, he charged up an intense heat in his outstretched hands and launched two streams of fire at the control panel - the recoil of the attack forcing him back through the air - reducing it to slag.

"What did you do!?" The hand demanded as it quickly grabbed Mario as he fell, but he simply smiled at the hand from under his hat. Behind the blast doors, large metal clamps released a vessel as its thrusters started to propel it down a long tube. At the end of the tube, a large portal opened into space and the craft rocketed through before well-placed explosives destroyed the portal apparatus.

The hand growled in rage before tossing Mario across the room like a ragdoll.

* * *

Aboard the craft's bridge, a terminal lit up.

"Lifeboat systems, online. Life support: Online. Engines: Online. Interstellar drive: Online. Dimensional drive: Online. Weapons: Online. Shields: Online. Tube systems: Online. Auxiliary systems: Online. Lifeboat functioning at 100% capacity. Awaiting input. Awaiting input. Awaiting input. Awaiting input. Awaiting input.

"Input not recognized. Assuming defeat. Activating _Last Stand_ protocol."


	7. The Reserves

"You really shouldn't wear out the deck plating like that," Slippy spoke in an attempt to asway the concerned woman from her pacing back and forth.

"He's late," Was all Krystal responded with not stopping in her pacing, "They both are. Normally they at least say _something_."

"Ah, maybe they just lost track of time," Peppy suggested unconvincingly. They all knew this was unlike Fox. Falco, they could understand, but even if he could not say what he was doing, Fox always let them know if he would be preoccupied. He also mentioned when Falco would be going with him, but he had not mentioned him in his last report. Now they were both missing.

It was not unlike Falco to go off on his own for a while. He rarely liked staying cooped up. So long as he did not get in trouble, no one stopped him. However, now he had been gone for too long, and the remaining members of Star Fox knew that something was wrong. They just did not know what.

"ROB, anything on the scanners?"

"Negative," The robot replied, "No sign of Falco's Arwing or either of their communicators."

Not that they were expecting anything. Wherever they disappeared to from time to time, no one could reach them, yet somehow they could still contact them. It was mysterious, but they trusted them. Now Krystal was wishing she had been less trusting.

"Error," All eyes fixated on the machine, "Unidentified energy signature forming."

"Where?" Peppy looked over the robot's shoulder.

"Here. On the bridge."

Just as he finished speaking the words, a seeming hole in space opened up on the bridge behind the robot and in front of Krystal. The other side of the portal seemed to be another ship or structure of unfamiliar design. It was something that none of them had ever seen before.

"What is that?" Peppy stroked his chin.

"Looks like some pretty advanced tech," Slippy commented in awe, "Think it's related to Fox and Falco?"

"I am receiving Fox's signal from the porta," ROB confirmed.

"What does it say?" Krystal looked around the portal.

"There is no audio. Only text." ROB turned in his chair, "It is asking for Krystal."

Krystal's eyes widened along with Slippy and Peppy's, but she quickly narrowed her gaze back toward the portal. It was an unknown, but if it meant finding Fox, it was worth it in her opinion.

"Krystal," Slippy spoke as she lifted a leg to enter the hole in space. The fox looked back to see the concern on Slippy and Peppy's faces.

"Don't worry. I'll be cautious, but I've got to try."

"I understand," Peppy nodded, "Bring our boys home."

"Stay safe!" Slippy gave her a quick hug, "I don't want to lose you too."

"Slippy," Krystal hugged him back, "You won't."

With that out of the way, Krystal looked back at the mysterious portal and stepped through.

* * *

"Calm down," Pyra scolded Rex as she adjusted his collar.

"Sorry, I just get nervous at functions like these. I really wish they didn't ask me to speak."

"Well," Pyra stepped back, satisfied with her work, "You are the hero of Alrest. It would make sense that you would be in high demand."

Rex sighed, "I guess so." They were currently preparing to go to a festival celebrating the defeat of Malos and the discovery of New Elysium. That also meant making sure Rex's dress clothes fit. He had to get a new set given his recent growth spurt, but they fit like a glove for now.

"You two about ready?" Mythra spoke sitting on top of her suitcase. Well, one of them. She had amassed quite the wardrobe since the fighting ended. To be fair, many of the outfits were gifts. The entire party had been practically smothered in gifts after their return.

"I think we're ready," Pyra smiled, "Looks like it still fits."

"I would hope so, he just got it a month ago."

"Hey, I've really hit a growth spurt," It was true, his days of looking up to Pyra and Mythra were over.

"Yeah, sure. Let's just get to–"

"Mythra?" Rex looked at her suspiciously as she stopped mid-sentence. Looking over to Pyra revealed that she was also wearing a concerned expression on her face, "Wha–"

Rex got his answer when a familiar portal opened up in the room.

"I was hoping I was wrong," Pyra whispered. She and Mythra had felt the energy build up that heralded the opening of one of these portals. It was a strange sensation to say the least. One they had felt before.

"Didn't we already tell those guys no?" Mythra huffed looking at the futuristic interior.

"Maybe something's come up," Rex did not take his eyes off the portal, "I'd hate for something to have happened to em. Couldn't be good news for us either."

"Do you think we should go through?" Pyra asked her driver.

"I…I think we should. Maybe they need our help."

"This seems pretty suspicious," Mythra commented.

"Yeah, but we can't ignore it," Pyra spoke.

"I guess," Mythra huffed, "I take it we're not going to the festival then?"

"Guess not," Rex could not say he was upset about that.

"Alright," Mythra was actually kind of looking forward to it, "Let's get this over with."

* * *

The other side of the portals exited into familiar tubes, but the rest of their surroundings were unfamiliar. It quickly became clear that they were somewhere they had not been before. However, perhaps more immediately concerning was the blue anthropomorphic fox that came out of the adjacent tube.

Her hand immediately went for a weapon on her waist causing Rex to reflexively put his hand on his the handle of Pyra's sword.

"Easy now," Rex put his hands up in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner, "Do you know what's going on here?"

"Rex, how could she possibly understand–"

"No, I'm looking for answers myself," The fox spoke plainly, "I take it a mysterious portal opened up for you as well."

"…You," Mythra's comment fell flat as she tried to figure out how they were understanding each other.

"Yeah," Rex continued without paying his blade much mind, "I'm Rex, this is Pyra."

"Hello," The fire blade waved politely.

"And this is Mythra."

"Mythra," Pyra elbowed her sister, "Say hello."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, hi I guess."

"That's an interesting lot you have there. My name's Krystal."

"Well, Krystal, maybe we can find some answers together."

"That would seem to be my best bet. First things first, we should see if there is anyone else here."

"Right then, onward!"

There was only one door leaving the hangar, so that was where they went. It led into another cold and metallic corridor that seemed normal enough to Krystal, but it was bringing back memories for the other three. Not necessarily pleasant ones.

As they traversed the ship, they found that few doors would open for them. It was clear after a few key doors did open that they were being guided somewhere, but that also added to the eeriness of it all. Where was everybody? Who or what was leading them along, and were they friendly? Add that to traveling with someone, or someones, that they had just met, and tensions were somewhat high as they finally entered what appeared to be the bridge.

"It appears to be some sort of control center," Krystal looked around at some of the terminals, "Though it seems that most of these displays are not active."

"Greetings," A robotic voice sounded out, "Thank you all for coming."

"Uh," Rex rubbed the back of his head, "You're welcome? Mind telling us what's going on here?"

At his request, a large monitor at the front of the room activated. On it, a diagram of what they could only assume to be the vessel they were on was shown before the voice resumed.

"This is the Lifeboat. An emergency mobile base of operations for the Super Smash Brothers."

"'Super Smash Brothers?'" Krystal folded her arms, "What's that?"

In response, the monitor displayed a large selection of profile pictures. Two of which immediately stood out to her, "The Super Smash Brothers is a group of elite individuals brought together to defend against dangerous threats. The pictures you see before you are those of the members."

Rex, Pyra, and Mythra picked out a blonde young man among the pictures before Pyra spoke up, "So…where are they?"

"Unknown."

"Unknown?" Krystal asked incredulously.

"Correct. This vessel was launched seemingly without a crew. In the event of such an event, I am programmed to initiate the _Last Stand_ protocol."

"The what now?"

"In the event of a catastrophic defeat, I am to gather 'The Reserves.'" A new set of pictures replaced the others. Four of those pictures were of those gathered on the bridge, "Krystal was chosen as one of the first due to the ease of getting her here, and the rest of you had prior experience with the organization. Preferably, the rest will be conferred with in person."

"So they're…gone?" Krystal looked on the verge of a breakdown leading Rex to offer her a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"You were close with one of them, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Krystal righted herself, "But that can wait. Computer, do you have any idea what happened?"

"Negative, but scans indicate that Homebase has gone dark. Any attempts at reaching the Smashers has also failed. It also seems that foreign energy readings are in position in orbit of Homeworld."

"A calculated strike."

"The data would seem to support this hypothesis, however, more information is needed say for certain."

"Well," Rex looked at the wall of names, "I guess we had better get started if we're going to stop them."

"Oh, come off it, Rex," Mythra huffed.

"Mythra!" Pyra covered her mouth in shock.

"We hardly know anything here, but if they did lose…they were the best, what hope do we have?"

"Well, I don't know, but I'm not going to sit around and do nothing. If someone took them out, then it can't be good for us. I'm going to help, even if I have to go it alone."

"I'm with you, Rex," Pyra nodded her assent.

"I won't let them get away with this," The pilot lightly bared her teeth, "I'm in."

"Well?" Rex looked at Mythra expectantly, "What do you say?"

Mythra folded her arms and looked away before huffing out a sigh, "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Now that that's settled," Pyra clasped her hands together, "What should we do first?"

"Coordinates for the worlds of the others are stored in the computer. Simply inform me which one you would like to recruit, and I will make the necessary preparations."

"So, it's up to us then?"

"Affirmative. I await your orders."

**A/N: Phew, I wanted to go ahead and get this out before the announcement as it will probably make me salty enough I don't want to work on this story for a bit. I predict disappointment, but that's about as far as I'll go with the predictions.**

** As for the story itself, I haven't really finalized what the team is going to look like. Suggestions are welcome so long as they are Nintendo. Fire Emblem is…well, Fire Emblem. I've mostly decided on part of my plan for it, but rest assured, it will not be pre-Awakening.**

** The plan it to hit up the Mario universe next, so, any guesses on who I plan to pick up from there (it's not limited to one per universe)?**


	8. Land of Stars

"Woah, I've never seen anything like this," Rex spoke in awe at the starry hill. Literally, the ground was littered with stars. The area seemed to be blanketed in an eternal night, but it was not malicious, rather, it was peaceful. As if they were at the base of the heavens.

"There's nothing like this on Alrest," Pyra shared in her driver's awe, but Mythra was still in the same bad mood she had been since this all started.

"Let's focus here, people. You got the…thing, Rex?"

"Yeah," Rex held up the wooden puppet unperturbed by Mythra's attitude. Mythra could not help but scowl at the doll. She had tried to figure out what was so special about it, but aside from a particularly powerful rocket fist – which Rex found out about when he almost gave himself a black eye playing with it – it seemed to be a fairly normal doll.

The profile they had taken was easily the vaguest with not even a picture to go by. Simply a brief and somewhat vague bio, some instructions, and directions to a locker with that doll.

"Alright," Rex sat the doll down at the peak of the hill as instructed, "Now I guess we wait."

"Fantastic," Mythra huffed and plopped down on the ground. Before Pyra could ask what was upsetting her sister so much, something approached them from above. It looked like…a star. It descended from the sky and settled over the doll before entering it. In a flash, the doll was suddenly the size of a person and looking directly at them.

"You…are not who I was expecting," The doll spoke, "I gave Mario and the princess these instructions for summoning me if they needed me. Who are you?"

"Uh, hi," Rex awkwardly addressed the doll, "I'm Rex. This is Pyra and Mythra. We came to get your help with something."

"Ah," The doll seemed to understand, "This again. Did Mario think I would agree if someone else asked? As I told him, I have superiors. It would be inappropriate to simply run off to serve on some–"

"Mario and Princess Peach are missing," Pyra blurted out stopping the doll in his tracks.

The doll was silent for a few moments before he spoke again, "Very well, I shall go with you."

"What? Just like that?" Rex raised a brow.

"Yes," He nodded, "I owe them a debt. If going with you will help me repay that, then I shall deal with the higher ups when the time comes."

"Well, thanks," Rex stuck out his hand, "Er, I'm afraid I don't know what to call you. There was no name on your profile."

"Ah, yes," The doll took his hand, "I requested they not use the doll as my picture or name in addition to preferring to stay out of the limelight, and my true name doesn't translate well. My name is !?."

"Er," Rex shared an odd look with his blades causing the being in the doll to laugh.

"I love people's reactions to that. No, you may refer to me as Geno. I'm honestly not even sure if you could make the appropriate sounds."

"I'm not even sure if I heard all of them. Well, Geno, it's good to have you on board."

"Wonderful," Mythra folded her arms, "Can we go now?"

Rex pulled out his communicator and pulled up a picture, "But what about this one?"

"Ugh, not that weirdo."

"What? We're desperate! We need all the help we can get. Besides, he's on the list."

"Er, if I may?" Geno spoke up, "I would prefer if I could leave before my superiors get suspicious of my absence."

"Great!" Mythra exclaimed, "I'll go with puppet guy, you two go find the weirdo."

"I mean, I assumed we'd just go and come back," However, Mythra simply ignored him it seemed as Rex called in the portal. As the portal formed and the Aegis and puppet walked through, Rex spoke with Pyra, "Hey, does Mythra seem to be in a mood to you?"

"Mmm," Pyra hummed in solemn agreement. She had theories, but she did not want to say anything without something more concrete, "Maybe it's nothing, but if it goes on, I'll talk to her about it."

"Alright," Her driver nodded, "Hope it's nothing serious though."

Pyra said nothing as they entered the Lifeboat before preparing to turn right back around. She hoped so too, but she doubted it. Mythra was normally sassy, but she was only ever this irksome when she was hiding something. Or perhaps, hiding _from_ something would be more accurate.

* * *

Krystal moved through the forest with adept precision. After all, being a pilot was a relatively recent career move. She still carried her blaster of course, but with a staff in hand, she easily traversed the unfamiliar yet familiar landscape.

It had been deemed a bad idea to just portal into her target, so she was taking something of a scenic route. Not that she minded. It was a refreshing change of pace from the cold and metallic interiors or bustling cities which had become her norm. It almost made her forget their current situation.

Almost.

Krystal was not about to lose sight of her goal. She did not want a horrible fate to befall the multiverse by any means, but she would also be lying if she said that revenge was not a strong motivator for her. Fox's fate was currently an unknown, but whatever it was, she was determined that whoever was responsible would pay. Dearly.

Her thoughts of revenge were put on hold when she came to a clearing. This was where she was supposed to go. After entering the clearing, a red reptilian creature spotted her and shouted before rushing up to her.

Krystal assumed a defensive stance, but she calmed down when the dinosaur appeared to merely be curious and began to sniff her. The red one was soon joined by others of its kind coming in a variety of colors. They numbered nine in total as they surrounded the member of Star Fox.

Satisfied with the number gathered, Krystal retrieved her communicator and prepared a message before setting it down. Once on the ground, a holographic version of one of their kind appeared much to their surprise.

"Yoshi!" The hologram spoke, "Yoshi. Yoshi Yoshi. Yoshi!" It was all gibberish to Krystal as even this strange translation technology employed by the Smashers had its limits, but the tribe of Yoshis seemed enthralled by the...speech.

Once it was over and the hologram retracted, the Yoshis swarmed Krystal seemingly eager to go with her. Whatever the other one had said had apparently been convincing. Perhaps they were more intelligent than they looked after all.

"Er, right this way," Krystal ushered them into the portal after she called for it. This went rather well. She could only hope that the others had such an easy time.

* * *

"Hey! Welcome back!" Rex greeted her and the group of Yoshis as they entered the tube room with Pyra laughing as the red one seemed to take a liking to her, "I guess it went well?"

"You could say that. You?"

"Ugh, do we even have a stable?" The white Yoshi gave Mythra a dirty look at the implications, "Yeah, recruitment went well...mostly."

"Hey, where's Geno?" Rex inquired of the blonde.

"In the bridge looking over the remaining picks."

"I suppose we should go join him then," Krystal weaved her way through the dinosaurs.

"You go ahead," Pyra smiled from atop the red Yoshi, "I'll show our new friends to their accommodations."

"Alright," Rex waved, "See you in a bit."

Mythra did not move initially though as she was stuck in a staring contest with the white Yoshi seemingly daring her to blink.

"Mythra!" Rex's shout caught her off guard causing her to lose, "You coming?"

Mythra practically growled. She could swear that thing was almost smirking at her, "You win this round," Mythra murmured threateningly as she left to join her driver.

**A/N: You know, I actually wasn't that salty after the reveal. I'll take first party. I know I didn't plan to do TH, but since they are DLC, I'll let you decide via a poll (should be on my profile, it's not a link). Remember, I would be using both of them like I do for the others (they even got separate splash art). No real skin off my back if no one wants them though.**

**Edit: Now, the poll is on the profile.**


End file.
